News and Announcements Archive

Wayne Law Bids Fond Farewell to Professor and Former Dean Joan Mahoney

June 8, 2009

DETROIT (June 8, 2009) – Wayne State University Law School Law Professor Joan Mahoney has announced her retirement. Professor Mahoney, a 1975 alumna of the Law School, served as dean of Wayne Law from 1998-2003.

“Wayne Law students, faculty members, alumni and friends have had the great honor of benefiting from Joan’s leadership, scholarship and expertise for more than a decade,” said Wayne Law Dean Robert M. Ackerman. “Although her departure is an acute loss to the Law School, we wish Joan a long and happy retirement.”

"I really enjoyed my time at Wayne Law, as a student, dean and professor,” Professor Mahoney said. “The students are fantastic, and the faculty is made up of accomplished scholars and wonderful teachers. I am sad about leaving, but looking forward to retirement."

Professor Mahoney earned an A.B. and A.M. from the University of Chicago. She earned a J.D. from Wayne Law and a Ph.D. from Cambridge University. After law school, she practiced with Detroit law firm Honigman, Miller, Schwartz and Cohn, LLP, and worked in legal services in New York before beginning her teaching career.

Professor Mahoney served on the faculty of Western New England College of Law, serving as its dean from 1994-96, and spent 14 years on the law faculty of the University of Missouri/Kansas City prior to joining Wayne Law as dean in 1998. She has taught Constitutional Law, Legal History, Federal Courts, Conflict of Laws and Family Law courses.

Additionally, Professor Mahoney has published numerous articles and book chapters on topics relating to constitutional law, legal history, comparative civil liberties and bioethics. Her current scholarly interests include reproductive technology and children's rights.

For information on how to make a gift to the Law School in Professor Mahoney’s name, please call the Law School Office of Development and Alumni Relations at (313) 577-4141 or send an email to am2674@wayne.edu. To send Professor Mahoney a message personally, please send an email to j.mahoney@wayne.edu.

About Wayne Law
Wayne State University Law School has educated and served the Detroit metropolitan area since its inception as Detroit City Law School in 1927. Located at 471 West Palmer Street in Detroit’s re-energized historic cultural center, the Law School remains committed to student success and features modern lecture and court facilities, multi-media and distance learning classrooms, a 200-seat auditorium, and the Arthur Neef Law Library, which houses one of the nation's 40 largest legal collections. Taught by an internationally recognized and expert faculty, Wayne Law students experience a high-quality legal education via a growing array of hands-on curricular offerings, client clinics, and access to well over 100 internships with local and non-profit entities each year. Its 11,000 living alumni, who work in every state of the nation and more than a dozen foreign countries, are experts in their disciplines and include leading members of the local, national and international legal communities. For more information, visit www.law.wayne.edu.